<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11870515" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="miles-routledge" source="Orion">Miles Routledge</keyword>, 21, flew into Kabul, <keyword id="11892774" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="afghanistan" source="Orion">Afghanistan</keyword> when the Taliban took over the city.</li><li>Over the next week, Routledge became a viral phenomenon after posting about his experiences online.</li><li>Here's a timeline of Routledge's self-described "adventure" and the criticism he's faced.</li></ul><a href="https://www.insider.com/miles-routledge-4chan-afghanistan-taliban-evacuation-safehouse-kabul-2021-8">Miles Routledge</a> captured the internet's attention after he decided to take an impulsive trip to Afghanistan right at the start of the Taliban's takeover. According to a now-deleted post from <a href="https://archive.is/IAep2#selection-1245.4-6565.34">Routledge on the 4chan </a><a href="https://archive.is/IAep2#selection-1245.4-6565.34">forum</a><a href="https://archive.is/IAep2#selection-1245.4-6565.34">,</a> he arrived in Afghanistan on Friday, after the coalition government fell to the Taliban. He had also posted about his visit on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/miles.routledge">Facebook</a> and other social media platforms.After spending a few days in the country, he landed in Dubai on a military evacuation flight on Tuesday, according to footage he shared (but has since deleted) <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dbagn/british-student-lord-miles-evacuated-from-afghanistan">on social media,</a> and has since been quarantining in the United Kingdom.While Rutledge visited the country for a vacation and was able to leave when the country became unsafe, many Afghans haven't been afforded the same opportunity. Approximately 330,000 Afghans have been displaced this year, with over half fleeing since the United States withdrew its military in May, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/31/world/asia/afghanistan-migration-taliban.html">according to The New York Times, citing United Nations data.</a>The student has also received a wave of backlash from critics and appeared to delete footage he <a href="https://www.insider.com/miles-routledge-4chan-afghanistan-taliban-evacuation-safehouse-kabul-2021-8">posted of his return on Facebook.</a>Here's a timeline of how Routledge's saga.<h2>2019: Routledge visited Chernobyl</h2><div type="image" title="Miles Routledge" height="2316" width="3088" msid="85475113" hostid="261"></div>The 21-year old Loughborough University physics student has been a fan of traveling to dangerous locales, telling Input Magazine in an interview that he <a href="https://www.inputmag.com/features/british-student-4chan-miles-routledge-kabul-afghanistan-taliban">traveled to Chernobyl in 2019</a>.Per a report from the <a href="https://www.indy100.com/news/miles-routledge-afghanistan-holiday-stuck-b1903168">Independent</a>, Routledge shared several Facebook updates about his trip. The posts appear to have since been deleted, <a href="https://www.insider.com/miles-routledge-4chan-afghanistan-taliban-evacuation-safehouse-kabul-2021-8">Insider previously reported.</a><h2>August 13, 2021: Routledge traveled to Afghanistan</h2>On August 13, Routledge landed in Kabul. He told <a href="https://www.inputmag.com/features/british-student-4chan-miles-routledge-kabul-afghanistan-taliban">Input</a> that he spent roughly $1,500 on a visa and flights and was seeking "adventure" when he booked his trip. "I hate lying around on a beach so I wanted to do something a little bit different. After graduating I'll have a full-time job and maybe a family so won't have the opportunity to do things like this again," <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/british-student-on-holiday-in-afghanistan-accepts-death-blhl8wph8?utm_medium=Social&amp;utm_source=Facebook&amp;fbclid=IwAR0n_nG8vnj4C-JNP8r9rKz-1x3fIJigQapb29VbHWphuDKTNzLq9v_OMDw#Echobox=1629095831-1095831-1">Routledge told the Times</a>. "I thought [Afghanistan] looked quite nice, the food seemed amazing and it was dirt cheap." Routledge posted about his arrival in Kabul on August 13 on a now-deleted <a href="https://www.inputmag.com/features/british-student-4chan-miles-routledge-kabul-afghanistan-taliban">4chan thread, Input reported.</a> Originally, commenters doubted that he was actually in the country, but after posting images of his plane ticket, his story started to seem more believable. "If they invade Kabul tomorrow, I'll buy a ticket to Turkey and then wait in the airport and depart to another country, then the adventures happen all over again," Routledge wrote on 4chan, according to Input. <h2>August 14, 2021: Routledge said he 'knew s--- hit the fan' </h2>The first signs of danger started to appear on Sunday, he said. Routledge told Input, "that's when I knew s--- hit the fan."That day, the Taliban, an Islamist militant organization, overtook Kabul as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani left the country. According to his interview with Input, Routledge said he saw people firing AK-47s into the air while others frantically tried to take their money out of banks. He told Input he bought a burqa to hide his identity and tried to visit a number of embassies, none of which were open. <h2>August 15, 2021: Routledge said he made it to a safe house</h2>After failing to find consular support at the Kabul airport, Routledge said he made it to a United Nations safe house, he later <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/british-student-miles-routledge-describes-afghanistan-evacuation-taliban-2021-8">said in an interview with Insider.</a> "I was just goofing off in Afghanistan," Routledge said on an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOaTwo7FfEU">August 15 Twitch live stream</a>. "I want the kids to know I did something interesting in my life and this is definitely on the list." <h2>August 16, 2021: Routledge made it out of Afghanistan and into Dubai</h2>After making it to the Kabul airport, he boarded a British military plane that he said was mainly full of aid and charity workers, military personnel, civil servants, and other foreigners. On Tuesday, the plane landed in Dubai, and Routledge told Insider he was immediately put on a plane back to the UK, where he said he is currently quarantining in a hotel.<a href="https://www.indy100.com/news/miles-routledge-afghanistan-holiday-stuck-b1903168">The Independent</a> reported that Routledge shared a 17-second video to Facebook of what appears to be him on a military plane. Footage of his evacuation was since shared on several other platforms.<h2>After his arrival back home, critics were quick to point out his privilege</h2><a href="https://www.insider.com/miles-routledge-4chan-afghanistan-taliban-evacuation-safehouse-kabul-2021-8">Some on Twitter</a> accused the student of taking a spot from some of the many Afghan citizens that are still stuck in Kabul.<a href="https://twitter.com/JulienHoez/status/1427708280692953107">Journalist Julian Hoez</a> tweeted that "he took a slot that a far less privileged Afghan citizen could have used to escape, while <a href="https://twitter.com/LukeGoesEast/status/1427009611912077319">others criticized him</a> for going to Afghanistan amid its humanitarian crisis "for fun."<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Lorna Russell (@lornrussell) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1428468623295852547?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2021</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-h g s (@HGSbitchin) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1428456716442742784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2021</a></blockquote><a href="https://www.insider.com/culture">Read more stories from Insider's Digital Culture desk.</a>

A British student seeking 'adventure' went to Afghanistan and escaped as the Taliban took over. Here's how it unfolded.

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11870515" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="miles-routledge" source="Orion">Miles Routledge</keyword>, the student who traveled to <keyword id="6354541" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="afghanistan" source="Orion">Afghanistan</keyword>, appeared to delete footage of his evacuation.</li><li>Routledge made waves online for traveling to the nation now controlled by the <keyword id="16945" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Taliban" source="Orion">Taliban</keyword>.</li><li>People accused Routledge of taking an evacuation spot that could have gone to an Afghan.</li></ul>Miles Routledge, the 21-year-old British student who went viral after posting on the fringe message board <keyword id="593135" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="4Chan" source="Orion">4chan</keyword> about traveling to Afghanistan while the Taliban overtook the country, appeared to delete posts on social media following backlash.Routledge, who has been referred to online as "Lord Miles" after a 4chan account believed to belong to him claimed to have purchased a <a href="https://archive.is/IAep2#selection-1245.4-6565.34" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fake lordship</a>, said he traveled on Friday to Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, which the Taliban captured over the weekend, <a href="https://www.insider.com/miles-routledge-4chan-user-evacuated-after-afghanistan-holiday-2021-8">Insider reported</a>.Since <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/british-student-miles-routledge-describes-afghanistan-evacuation-taliban-2021-8?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">leaving the country on a British military plane</a> on Tuesday, he's faced criticism for going to Afghanistan amid its turmoil for what <a href="https://www.inputmag.com/features/british-student-4chan-miles-routledge-kabul-afghanistan-taliban">he told Input magazine</a> was the sake of "adventure."Now Routledge appears to have deleted at least one video and every written post from his Facebook page, <a href="https://www.indy100.com/news/miles-routledge-afghanistan-holiday-stuck-b1903168">a report from The Independent on Wednesday indicated</a>.Routledge had written about his situation in Afghanistan in numerous Facebook updates, The Independent reported; on Wednesday, all the posts embedded in that report appeared to have been deleted. Insider found a page believed to belong to Routledge that featured images of him but did not include any posts about Afghanistan.Routledge also appeared to have deleted footage said to show his evacuation.In a 17-second video that <a href="https://twitter.com/Reach4ACopsGun/status/1427590145125994505">numerous</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/RT_com/status/1427642596692791304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1427642596692791304%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.insider.com%2Fmiles-routledge-4chan-user-evacuated-after-afghanistan-holiday-2021-821-8">accounts</a> shared on Twitter, someone who appears to be Routledge reveals a huge aircraft full of people packed together.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-RT (@RT_com) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1427642596692791304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 17, 2021</a></blockquote>Routledge <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/british-student-miles-routledge-describes-afghanistan-evacuation-taliban-2021-8?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">told Insider on Wednesday</a> that "the evacuation took ages and was very up in the air" but that many British soldiers "were in good spirits like myself." He added, "They were tired but glad to be out."On Twitter, several people accused Routledge of acting out of privilege and taking an escape opportunity that could have gone to an Afghan citizen. Many people in Kabul who want to leave in the face of Taliban rule remain stuck.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Julien Hoez (@JulienHoez) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1427708280692953107?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 17, 2021</a></blockquote>In a tweet with over 400 likes and 100 retweets, the journalist <a href="https://twitter.com/JulienHoez/status/1427708280692953107">Julien Hoez</a> called Routledge "spoilt" and accused him of taking "a slot that a far less privileged Afghan citizen could have used to escape.""I increasingly struggle to derive even wry enjoyment from the story of 'Lord Miles' Miles Routledge," <a href="https://twitter.com/Emmy_Bun/status/1427807986089615364">another user tweeted</a>. "He went to glibly tool around an active warzone and had to be babied by the army."Routledge did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment regarding the plane footage.<a href="https://www.insider.com/culture">Read more stories from Insider's Digital Culture desk.</a>

A British student who traveled to Afghanistan for 'adventure' during the Taliban's uprising appeared to delete footage showing his evacuation after facing backlash

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Taliban has detained a British man who says he likes to travel to extreme places for fun.</li><li>Miles Routledge, 23, was earlier evacuated from Afghanistan during the Taliban takeover in 2021, before returning again last year. </li></ul>A British man who said he likes to travel to "dark" and "extreme" places is one of three British men detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan, the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-65118681">BBC</a> reported.Miles Routledge, 23, has posted on YouTube and Twitter about his travels in dangerous places, including in parts of Afghanistan. In one video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V19PBG3OvE">posted to his Youtube channel</a> last year, Routledge claims to be sneaking into Afghanistan under forged documents. The British army earlier helped evacuate Routledge from Afghanistan in 2021, after the Taliban takeover of Kabul, <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/afghanistan-three-british-men-being-held-in-taliban-custody-including-danger-tourist-who-returned-after-army-evacuation-12847589#">Sky News</a> reported. Routledge was apparently there on vacation at the time. "I go to the most dangerous places on Earth for fun!" Routledge says in his <a href="https://twitter.com/real_lord_miles?lang=en">Twitter</a> biography. According to the BBC, in unrelated incidents, the Taliban also detained 53-year-old Kevin Cornwell, who is a British paramedic working for a charity. A third unnamed British man has also been detained. British officials told both outlets that they're working to get the men back. <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/04/01/british-tourist-lord-miles-routledge-captured-taliban-kabul/">The Telegraph</a> reported that the Taliban detained Routledge on or around March 2, alongside two Polish nationals. Taliban officials told the Telegraph that the group appeared to be "partaking in suspicious activities." But further details have not been released.

The Taliban has detained a British influencer who says he travels to 'dark' and 'extreme' places for fun

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Miles Routledge went viral after he posted on 4chan that he was in Kabul, <keyword id="6354541" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="afghanistan">Afghanistan</keyword> on Friday.</li><li>The student appeared to livestream from a safehouse on Sunday after the <keyword id="16945" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Taliban">Taliban</keyword> occupied Kabul.</li><li>A Facebook profile purporting to be Routledge says that he has now left on an evacuation flight.</li></ul>Miles Routledge, a 21-year old Loughborough University physics student who <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/15882240/miles-routledge-kabul-afghanistan-holiday-pal-mum-loughborough/">reportedly</a> went to Afghanistan, appears to have now been evacuated to Dubai "thanks to the brilliant people at the British Army," according to a video posted to his purported Facebook account.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-RT (@RT_com) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1427642596692791304">August 17, 2021</a></blockquote><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9901167/British-student-21-shares-video-aboard-RAF-military-plane.html">The Daily Mail</a> reported earlier this week that Routledge arrived in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 13 on a flight from Istanbul, Turkey. After being moved into a safehouse on Sunday, according to <a href="https://www.inputmag.com/features/british-student-4chan-miles-routledge-kabul-afghanistan-taliban">Input</a>, following Taliban insurgence in the country, a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/miles.routledge/posts/4220912627945236">Facebook</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/miles.routledge/posts/4221259494577216">account</a> under his name said that he was being evacuated on a flight to Dubai on Tuesday.Since posting about his trip on 4chan, a forum associated with the development of internet memes and various online subcultures, Routledge has become a viral figure on the site, with users making memes of him and referring to him as "Lord Miles" after Routledge <a href="https://archive.is/IAep2#selection-1245.4-6565.34">appeared to say</a> that he bought a Lordship for £15.<h2>Miles Routledge appears to have posted across social media platforms about his trip to Afghanistan</h2>Accounts under Routledge's name have shared regular updates about his trip across Twitch, 4chan, and Facebook. Routledge first appeared to start posting about his trip on August 13. On a <a href="https://archive.is/IAep2#selection-1245.4-6565.34">now-deleted 4chan thread,</a> it appears that Routledge wrote on Friday that he was "goofing off and soaking up the sun" in Kabul. With doubts cast over the validity of the trip, the account later posted what appeared to be a plane ticket from Istanbul to Kabul. Details on the ticket matched valid flight records reviewed by Insider.Routledge also appears to have documented his purported trip on this Facebook account, with several <a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/nmtemzo">since-removed</a> images appearing to show him in Kabul.<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/madlads/comments/p4xe7a/mad_lad_goes_to_kabul_afghanistan_on_holiday_as/"></a> Insider has been unable to independently verify the posts.One purported <a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/nmtemzo">screenshot</a> of a Facebook post from Friday appears to show several images of Routledge at a bird market in Afghanistan. "A bomb went off around 5oom from here but we're all gucci," the account wrote. On the same day, a 4chan user purporting to be Routledge <a href="https://archive.is/IAep2#selection-1245.4-6565.34">posted</a> that they "did some trolling in the bird market this morning."Routledge appeared to go live on streaming platform Twitch on Sunday. During the stream, which has since been <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOaTwo7FfEU">re-uploaded to YouTube</a>, Routledge appeared to show a visa that allowed him access to Afghanistan in response to comments doubting his account.<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qOaTwo7FfEU" frameborder="0"></iframe>On Monday and Tuesday, Routledge appeared to publish two posts saying he was being evacuated via Dubai. On August 15, the United Arab Emirates foreign ministry said it was working to facilitate evacuations of citizens of Britain and other countries, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/uae-says-working-facilitate-evacuation-foreign-diplomats-afghanistan-2021-08-15/">Reuters</a>.A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth &amp; Development Office was unable to confirm Routledge's whereabouts, but said, "We are working hard to contact all the British nationals we are aware of who remain in Afghanistan, to help them leave the country. The safety of British nationals is our top priority which is why we have been urging British nationals to leave Afghanistan by commercial means since April 21. On August 6 we updated our advice to urge British nationals to leave immediately and to update us on their plans for departure."<h2>Routledge and his friends have spoken to various publications </h2>Routledge has spoken about his experiences with various publications."I was under the impression that the country wouldn't fall for another month, so I thought it was going to be fine," he said <a href="https://spectatorworld.com/topic/bit-of-a-pickle-meet-the-british-student-stuck-on-holiday-in-kabul/">in an interview with The Spectator</a>. <a href="https://www.inputmag.com/features/british-student-4chan-miles-routledge-kabul-afghanistan-taliban">In an interview with Input, </a>Routledge said he knew "s--t hit the fan" in Kabul on the third day of his trip, August 15. While trying to visit an ATM, he told Input he witnessed a bank run, which has been reported on by <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2021/8/15/kabul-residents-withdraw-money-flee-city-as-taliban-advances">Al Jazeera</a>, with hundreds of people waiting outside to get money. Routledge told Input that he visited a range of embassies to try and get assistance, but that they were all closed. He says that he then hitchhiked to Kabul airport along with his translator, but was unable to get a flight. According to Input, Routledge said he was then guided by locals to a safehouse.Routledge's friend also spoke to <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/15882240/miles-routledge-kabul-afghanistan-holiday-pal-mum-loughborough/">The Sun. </a>They described Routledge's trip as an "elaborate meme gone way too far."His mother Susan has also been in contact with <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/15882240/miles-routledge-kabul-afghanistan-holiday-pal-mum-loughborough/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Sun,</a> although Routledge appeared to confirm during his livestream and on <a href="https://archive.is/IAep2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">4chan </a> that he was not in contact with his family. When contacted by Insider, Routledge's only comment was to thank the Canadian embassy and his tour guide, saying, "We are good friends and thank God we've made it this far. I can never thank him enough for his help."<h2>Routledge said he is a fan of extreme tourism and plans to go to North Korea next</h2>"I hate lying around on a beach so I wanted to do something a little bit different," Routledge said to The Times. He told Input that his first experience of "extreme tourism" - which involves traveling to past or present sites of extreme tragedy and death - was on a trip to Chernobyl, Ukraine with his friend two years ago.<a href="https://www.facebook.com/miles.routledge">A Facebook account appearing to belong to Routledge</a> celebrating the "two-year anniversary" of this trip in a post in May. In the post, the account holder joked that Chernobyl was "better than my university halls."<a href="https://www.insider.com/culture">For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.</a>

A student who posted online about traveling to Afghanistan despite the Taliban uprising says he's been evacuated to Dubai

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Miles Routledge, 21, was on vacation in Kabul when the <keyword id="16945" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Taliban">Taliban</keyword> took over the city.</li><li>He is now back in the UK after being evacuated by the British military on Tuesday.</li><li>He told Insider how he made it out and shared some Afghans' view of the US troop pullout.</li></ul>A 21-year-old student who was evacuated from <keyword id="6354541" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="afghanistan">Afghanistan</keyword> by British soldiers has described how he made it out of Kabul after the Taliban takeover.<a href="https://www.insider.com/miles-routledge-4chan-user-evacuated-after-afghanistan-holiday-2021-8">Miles Routledge</a> landed in Kabul for a vacation on August 13 and planned to leave on August 19. But the Taliban <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-show-taliban-with-guns-reciting-quran-at-presidential-palace-2021-8">seized the city</a> on August 15 and all commercial flights were canceled, leaving him trapped. Routledge, who is now quarantining at a hotel back in the UK, made it out of the country on a British military plane on Tuesday, and described to Insider on Wednesday how he made it out.<h2>'I used my helmet and my baggage as a pillow'</h2>Routledge said that as the Taliban rolled in to Kabul Sunday evening, his Afghan tour guide led him across town from his hotel to a UN safe house.Routledge <a href="https://t.co/FiShz5EDmF?amp=1">previously told The Times of London</a> that the British embassy in Kabul wasn't answering his calls, and <a href="https://www.inputmag.com/features/british-student-4chan-miles-routledge-kabul-afghanistan-taliban">told Input magazine</a> that he tried to visit multiple embassies, but they were all closed. He told Insider the Canadian embassy eventually helped him the most.He said there were a number of foreign nationals at the safe house, and they were soon told to try and make it to Kabul airport - the only way out of the city."We were told to abandon the safe house, there was no way we'd get there without that as we were outnumbered by the Taliban," he said."They [the Taliban] promised us safe transport if we gave up the weapons, so we did and they escorted us out."<div type="image" title="Miles Routledge" height="596" width="1192" msid="85428160" hostid="261"></div>Routledge said the mood upon leaving the safe house was bizarre."It was weird, some people were taking selfies with them [Taliban fighters], shaking their hand and smiling," he said."The evacuation took ages and was very up in the air, we waited for a few hours on a dirt road for a car to pick us up, so I and many others just slept on the dirt/gravel. I used my helmet and my baggage as a pillow."<h2>'Glad to be out'</h2>When he made it to Kabul airport, and onto a British military plane, Routledge found that it was mainly full of aid and charity workers, military personnel, civil servants, and other foreigners."I didn't see any Afghan people on the plane," he said.He also said the British soldiers escorting them seemed relieved: "Many were in good spirits like myself ... They were tired but glad to be out," he said.Their plane departed Kabul airport and landed in Dubai on Tuesday, whereupon Routledge was put on a plane back to the UK. He is now quarantining at a hotel.While Routledge made it out, hundreds of Afghans - including whose who worked with the US and UK - remain trapped. Hundreds rushed Kabul airport on Sunday, with video showing some <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/afghanistan-kabul-airport-people-latch-onto-moving-usaf-plane-video-2021-8">latching onto a moving US Air Force plane</a>. Other footage showed people who had clung to a plane <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kabul-airport-people-fall-from-planes-leaving-afghanistan-videos-photos-2021-8">falling from the sky moments later</a>.When reached for comment on Routledge, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth &amp; Development Office told Insider: "We are working hard to contact all the British nationals we are aware of who remain in Afghanistan, to help them leave the country."As of Wednesday, the UK was still evacuating its nationals from Afghanistan. Vice Admiral Sir Ben Key, who is in charge of the evacuations, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-58244927">told the BBC</a> on Tuesday it was "operating at full pace" and that around 300 citizens had been taken to safety.<iframe src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/players/VKZAk1lT-gFnR6QwM.html" width="100%" height="100%" style="position:absolute;"></iframe><h2>'They felt like they had been abandoned'</h2>Routledge told Insider that the Afghans he met in Kabul varied in their reaction to the Taliban's arrival. "Most Afghan people fell into three categories: One, didn't care and sunbathed whilst a war was waged. Two, shocked at how quickly things fell and knew their life was in danger. Three, glad because they believed the Taliban was good," he said. Routledge said many Afghans he spoke with blamed the US military pullout for the rise of the Taliban."Many I asked were saddened at the sudden pullout, they felt like they had been abandoned by the pullout, many of them discussed with me how it should have been done slowly over time," he said. Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/images-afghans-falling-from-sky-bookend-911-falling-man-kabul-2021-8">Opinion: The images of Afghans falling from the sky close the book on America's tragic and futile response to 9/11</a><h2>'I saw several famous YouTubers post their trips there'</h2>As for why he chose to visit Afghanistan in the first place, Routledge said it was a final hurrah before graduating university."I know I won't have ten days free until I'm 40 or maybe retirement age so this was my last change to visit somewhere I feel like is misunderstood," he said."I saw several famous YouTubers post their trips there, they showed the cheap amazing food, the nature, the people and how safe it is.""Plus every intelligence agency said it would be 30-plus days until Kabul fell," he said. "I thought it was in my risk tolerance."

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A British student seeking 'adventure' went to Afghanistan and escaped as the Taliban took over. Here's how it unfolded.

Steven Asarch

A British student who traveled to Afghanistan for 'adventure' during the Taliban's uprising appeared to delete footage showing his evacuation after facing backlash

Kieran Press-Reynolds

The Taliban has detained a British influencer who says he travels to 'dark' and 'extreme' places for fun

Sarah Al-Arshani

A student who posted online about traveling to Afghanistan despite the Taliban uprising says he's been evacuated to Dubai

Charlotte Colombo

A British student who got a last-gasp flight out of Kabul described how he made it out of Afghanistan as the Taliban closed in

Bill Bostock